DE KALB — Three lightning delays and a saturated field in the second half were the only thing that were able to slow down Kemper County High School Friday night.

Otis Cross scored two touchdowns and picked off a pair of passes on defense, and the Wildcats rolled past Tylertown High School 32-14 in the opening round of the MHSAA Class 3A playoffs.

“This has got to go down as one of the longest games in history,” Kemper County coach Chris Jones said. “At the end of the day, you can’t control the weather; you can only control what you can control. We had to come out here and play ball, and that’s what we did.”

With fellow wide out D.J. Clayton suspended from the contest for throwing a punch in last week’s 16-6 win over Philadelphia, Cross knew he had to step up his performance.

“Coach (Jones) asked me to go out there and make big plays, and I did that,” Cross said. “This is just crazy. I have never played this long (of a game) before. And with all the rain… this is my first time playing in rain for this length of time.”

The win for Kemper County gives the school just its second home playoff win in school history. Both times, the Wildcats were led by Eric Clark. Clark had 123 yards passing and three touchdown passes.

“It means a lot to me knowing I’m leading a team that’s winning,” Clark said. “But it’s really about the guys around me. I have to give the credit to them.”

The three delays totaled over two hours of game stoppage.

Kemper County led at the half 26-8.

The Wildcats outgained the Chiefs 377 yards to 254.

“I thought we played hard for the most part,” Jones said. “We made a few mistakes, but those are correctable, and I’ll make sure I do a good job of identifying (the mistakes).”

Lightning strikes before kickoff, at halftime and in the early stages of the fourth quarter forced delays on each occasion, with the latest forcing a stoppage over an hour.  

In between the lightning strikes, Otis Cross provided the sparks on the field for the Wildcats.

The senior wide receiver hauled in four passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns. Additionally, Cross recorded two interceptions.

Cross caught a 10-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring, then followed it up with a 16-yard score on the Wildcats’ next possession, giving his squad a 14-8 advantage.

“It’s win or go home,” Cross said. “I told my team, ‘I won’t go home.’”

Cross then recorded his first interception of the game, giving Kemper County possession inside Tylertown territory.

Clark connected with Jonathan Pollack for a 34-yard gain, then Elijawhan Cole slammed in from 4 yards out to give Kemper County a 20-8 lead.

“We’re glad for the win, but we have stay humble,” Clark said. “This isn’t our mission — winning in the first round; it’s just the next step in trying to win a championship.”

Cross then recorded his second interception of the first half. Two plays later, Clark hit Cole for a 26-yard touchdown pass for the final score of the half.

Kemper County outgained Tylertown 232 to 117 yards in the half.  

“It all started up front,” Jones said. “We couldn’t really throw it because of the conditions, but as soon as it slacked it off, (Clark) was able to get some good throws. … We just made enough plays (Friday).”

Kemper County picked up the second half right where it left off in the first, taking its opening possession down the field for a score.

Cole recorded a 35-yard run, and then Dondre Andrews finished it off with an 11-yard touchdown score.

Tylertown then tallied its second score of the game, a 17-yard scoring run by Dabben McGowan to cut the deficit to 32-14.  

“It’s about three or four games in a row the defense has done really well,” Jones said. “If we’re going to win a championship, we’re going to need to play really good defense.”

Kemper County will face Franklin County High School next week. Franklin County defeated St. Andrews 38-10 Thursday night.